Need smallest profile mobo possible?

[ikjadoon]

I only know of one board that has TV-Out:

DFI mATX

Not released in the US, yet, though. Only has AC '97, though.

~Ibrahim~

 

[oz42]

Well the upgrade junky geek part of me knows its crappy advice to recommend 939 these days, but the dfi rs482 has dvi-d build in. And afaik dvi can be converted to hdmi, so hdmi from onboard is possible with that board. (then use the spdif to reciever to get your dolby audio)

Sure ddr1 ram is passe, and 939 is a dead socket, but HTPCs don't usually follow the same uber-geek principles as other systems. I don't think anybody I've built a HTPC for ever maxed out the cpu, so core2 isn't a required element, no matter how cool it is.

Atleast the 939 single core chips aren't as warm as their priced Intel competition.

I always try and keep my designs on 'live' tech, but htpc is one place I don't mind selling the 'old stuff'.

 

[oz42]

I only know of one board that has TV-Out:

DFI mATX

Not released in the US, yet, though. Only has AC '97, though.

~Ibrahim~

Ding Ding, we have a winner (well atleast until a core2 board comes out)

Too bad about the availability. Not even on ebay...

8 channel ac'97 through spdif isn't too shabby, but I'm still not a big enough fan of nvidia 6150 for tv-out. Maybe once they work on their software a bit more...

 

[ikjadoon]

Maybe..

~Ibrahim~

 

[kukito]

I found this ABIT that has HDMI and supports Core Duo (Yonah) and Core 2 Duo (Merom). Both of those CPUs would be excellent for an entertainment system. Again the pesky GMA 950 so don't count on going beyond 720p. And it even supports RAID. Still, I think the best bet is to get even a low profile video card that supports digital HD (via DVI/HDMI) video rather than rely on the integrated graphics. Should be cheaper too. Waiting a bit wouldn't be a bad idea either although the waiting game sucks. ATI should be coming out with some killer chipsets very soon for both AMD and Intel. And ATI also has good TV tuner technology.

 

[oz42]

Another good find on that Abit board.

And I'll agree about waiting. As usual, companies are all out will the big high end systems first, HTPC stuff is a low profit after though...

They might be launched around the same time as the next aiw (r600) cards and that would be a great 'future proof' htpc forsure.

 

[kukito]

And I'll agree about waiting. As usual, companies are all out will the big high end systems first, HTPC stuff is a low profit after though...

Yeah...and it shouldn't be. With HDTV surging this is the perfect time to merge the computer with the TV. And 1366x768 is fine for browsing, burning, writing, etc. in addition to video. And the panels are cheaper at that resolution. 1920x1080 would be awesome both for video and computing.

 

[ikjadoon]

I know that the next ATI IGPs are going to be loaded with a slightly cut-down X700...

~Ibrahim~